That sleep is not at the command of will is certain, or why undergo the tedium of a restless night? Before the state of sleep can obtain, the body has to experience an electro-physico change, by which the extremities are left polarised and the body an animal or living magnet. That the extremities are polarised during sleep, is admitted by all physiologists; for the effecting of which there must be a pair of correlative elements concerned. While the elementary transfer, productive of the polarities, is taking place, so is drowsiness; when sleep has obtained, the natural magnetising procedure has terminated; hence from the degree of polarity, the mesmeriser can determine the stage to which the patient has been brought between the comatose and clairvoyant states, and know the capability of his patient for being made clairvoyant or not; this polar index should be well noticed.
Comatose Flow.
— It must have been observed by many persons while dozing and the body in a sitting or leaning posture, that an agreeable warm glow arises in the chest, which increases while passing sensibly through the pectoral towards the gastric region, and which terminates, insensibly, in the consummation of sleep; from the feet upwards a similar, but less perceptible, flow takes place. Of this twofold comatose flow, the immediate consequence is polarisation of the extremities; sleep is a remote, but not the remotest consequence, when effects similar to those by the flow are mesmerically effected. Thus it appears that the theory of sleep and magnetism is the same. The magnetising procedure, however, has this difference; the magnetic correlatives are drawn from the middle to and out of the extremities of the bar; those of the body of the patient recede from the extremities to the central region, leaving one, the correlative of the other, at each extremity, in both cases.
The foregoing theory of sleep is described from immediate personal observation. While leaning over a table, the doze heavy, the comatose flow distinctly felt in its agreeable downward progress through the chest, when, just at the instant of forgetfulness, the violent slam of a door drove away all chance of sleep under the following circumstances: a sensible and sudden revulsion upwards, a few seconds of giddiness, and a smart painful stroke on the stomach took place, all in quick succession; which may be accounted for thus: the slam prevented the correlative fluids from the opposite extremities meeting centrally; each gushed irregularly back, and depolarized its extremity, the suddenness of which caused the giddiness. The stroke is the true electric shock, inflicted by the medium of space suddenly rushing or falling on the stomach, from which the matter of the comatose flow had been as suddenly displaced. Taking all circumstances into consideration, it is manifest that the state of sleep is the result of a natural magnetizing operation.
Before the fire, while reading, the superior extremity loses electric matter to the fire, which leaves it polarized and promotes the comatose flow. The lower extremity becomes polarized simultaneously with the upper as a correlative consequence. Sleep is supposed to be expedited by heat; hence the afternoon's nap is seconded by a silk handkerchief thrown over the head, but which is only a hindrance to electric matter, similar to that of the comatose flow entering from the air and depolarizing the extremity. The handkerchief, from being a non-conductor, only prevents the coming sleep being retarded; it could neither generate nor multiply heat.
Naturally it might be questioned, why the body should become somnolent daily; and, by what means the comatose flow is naturally effected;—of itself it could not take place. The languor removed, and renovation of muscular strength through sleep, may satisfy in the first instance. Next, it would seem, that, as the functions of the several organs depend on the presence of minus-pressure matter for unequalising the pressure on each organ, so must there be waste, loss, and daily deficit of minus-pressure matter; which, from being made good by means of sleep, leaves it inferable, that the daily quantity derived from respiration may be little more than sufficient for the continuance of animation under the minimum of bodily exercise; but as man is necessitated to follow laborious avocations, so is it designed, that the loss by service and waste shall be the means whereby the necessary re-supply is to be furnished. The loss leaves the extremities polarized; and as greater waste towards total exhaustion approaches, the matter of the comatose flow becomes needed and is employed in prolonging the functions of the different organs, and before exhaustion is complete the body is in the state of sleep; during which, from every inspiration being far more lengthy than ordinary, the body is resupplied to repletion with the respirable minus-pressure matter, by which the extremities are depolarized, and the sleeper is awake, refreshed and invigorated. From which it may be said, that a man toils himself to sleep, and sleeps himself awake; and that, not "balmy sleep," but respiration, is "tired Nature's sweet restorer."
Mesmeric sleep
may be considered forced sleep. It is effected with little or no comatose flow, which renders replenishing by long breathing unnecessary; and the patient, on being awakened by demagnetising the extremities, is rather debilitated than refreshed.
Every finger of the mesmeriser is a magnet to the magnetic correlatives within the extremities of the patient; and the passes polarize after the manner of the comatose flow in the case of natural sleep. From there being no mesmerically-effected comatose flow, there is reason to infer, that the contents of the nerves of sensation only are what the passes polarize and what only are polarized in natural sleep, although expressed by the word, extremities.
Repetition of the passes separates, or de-electrises more completely the nerves of the extremities, than for the production of natural sleep is requisite. Hence it may be said, that the body of the mesmerised patient is in magnetic advance, and hence the series of surprising consequences which bring to light more and more the wonders of the economy.
The passes should be conducted on magnetising principles; that is, from the extremities to the gastric region to bring on somnolency, and from the same region to the head and feet or extremes to awaken; from head to foot is unscientific, and might be prejudicial; the central region of the body should be considered the mesmeric insuperable line. Cross passes having been found efficient are not anomalous, by reason of the nerves and branches lying in all directions.
